Drake Anzano, a sophomore at Christian Brothers Academy, surprised the opposition as well as his coaches when he came away with the 1600-meter title at the New Jersey Meet of Champions on June 3. Anzano, seeded 15th in the event with a 4:17.14 PR from the state group meet five days earlier, ripped off a 58.8 last 400m for a come-from-behind triumph in 4:11.36. It’s been quite a year for Anzano—he struggled to handle increases in mileage this fall and took some time to mature into a varsity-level athlete. Yet, in a CBA program with a rich history of national-class runners, Anzano became the school’s first state outdoor 1600m champion ever. He is also the nation’s second-fastest sophomore in the 1600m or mile this season.

State Champs: With River Dell High School’s junior twins, Bill and Colin Daly, doing most of the pace setting, Anzano held position in the middle of the pack, moving to fourth heading into the bell lap. The slow tempo, 2:09 at the 800m, was set up for a kicker. Anzano knew he had the speed—after his 4:17, he felt he could run a lot faster. In the last 200m, he swept around the turn and into the lead and raced home across the line. Anzano, who recently turned 17, became the third sophomore boy to win the Meet of Champions outdoor 1600m in 34 years.

Fast Friends: Last year as an impressionable freshman, Anzano looked up to CBA’s then sophomore star, Blaise Ferro, who won the 2014 state 3200m in 9:08.02. Anzano figured if a sophomore could manage to win the 3200m, then he might have a shot in the 1600m. In this year’s meet, Ferro improved his 3200m PR to 9:03.32 while placing third. Last month, Anzano ran 9:12.17 for 3200m, 29 seconds faster than his best as a freshman. Anzano and Ferro have become close friends and training partners. This fall, the two boys will lead the Colts’ cross country team, which has hopes of regaining the Nike Cross Nationals (NXN) title.

Surprising Win: After struggling in the fall, the jury was still out on Anzano until the Penn Relays in late April, when he led off the CBA distance medley with a sparkling 3:08 for 1200m. After that, he stuck with Ferro in strength workouts like 2,000m followed by a set of 600m reps, and won a state sectional 800m in a PR of 1:55.20. As Anzano cooled down after his Meet of Champions victory, longtime Colts’ coach Tom Heath said, “We knew Drake was ready to run something good. We didn’t know it would be that good.” CBA assistant coach Sean McCafferty, summing up the team’s view of Anzano’s chances prior to state, said, “Maybe he could get a medal.”

Big Goals: Now that Anzano has won the gold, he has the luxury of grandiose thoughts. “My dad and I have been talking about going for a sub-4:00 mile,” he says, referring to his next two years of high school. Anzano has studied the style of Grant Fisher of Michigan, who the day after Anzano’s victory became the seventh high school runner to break 4:00, running 3:59.38. Last year, Anzano attended the Adidas Grand Prix meet in New York to watch Fisher run the Dream Mile, which he won. “He’s smooth, fluid. I’d like to model myself off him,” Anzano says.

Moving Up: CBA is known for its rigorous summer running, which has helped the Colts qualify for NXN seven times (they won in 2011). Last summer, moving up from the freshman ranks, Anzano says the varsity training was over his head. “I wasn’t mentally ready for it yet,” he says. “It caught me off guard that it was my time to move up.”

Fast Work: Anzano wound up running junior varsity last fall, but still showed signs that he could be a great cross country runner. In 2013 he won the Manhattan Invitational freshman boys’ 1.25-mile race in a course record of 5:51.70 (the freshman course has varied slightly over the years). Last fall, he won the Manhattan J.V. race on the standard 2.5-mile course in 13:29. He ran a best time of 16:52 on the hilly Holmdel Park 5K course, which was good, but not up to CBA varsity standards.

Summer Training: A former swimmer who competed on his YMCA team for ten years, Anzano lifeguards in the summer. Last summer, Heath says, Anzano would come to evening practice after sitting in the sun all day and was drained. This summer, Anzano’s work schedule will be adjusted so he’ll be ready to help lead the team. He’s already handling 50 to 60 miles a week, a distance breakthrough for him.

Frosh Times: In track, Anzano started out running the 800m and collected a CBA indoor freshman record of 2:02.10. Outdoors as a freshman, he ran 1:59.74 along with a 4:20.21 mile and 9:41.93 2-mile. He looked up to the team’s stars like 2013 state cross country champion Mike McClemens. Anzano was intimidated by the CBA aura. “I was a shy freshman,” he says.

Long Commute: Most CBA students live fairly close to the school in and around the Jersey Shore. Anzano lives in Toms River, a 40-minute drive from the school. His father drives him to CBA in the morning and his mom picks him up after practice. When it comes to indoor meets, Anzano has the convenience of the Toms River Bubble, site of most statewide competition, close to home.

Learning Curve: Anzano’s appreciation of what it takes to excel and eagerness to learn from his coaches has given him the confidence and poise to take his talents far. “You have to keep a young athlete like Drake motivated,” McCafferty says. “You have to change goals. This fall, for cross country, it’s all about the team.”

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